Chemistry puzzler SpaceChem offered to schools for free

Indie game developer Zachtronics Industries is offering its chemistry-focused puzzler SpaceChem
to schools for free, in a bid to outdo other educational games,
"that often forget to be fun."

The game is all about constructing complicated chemical
factories that can autonomously turn a handful of atoms -- like
hydrogen and carbon -- into real-world molecules -- like methane (CH4), without everything breaking.

To do this, you create tracks for a pair of nanoscopic robots
called waldoes to run along, and lay down commands (like pick-up,
bond or fuse an atom) for them to carry out when they pass
over.

What you're really doing is visual programming, complete with debugging. The majesty of
SpaceChem is the devious way it teaches you techniques
like in-order execution, loops, branching, synchronisation
primitives and subroutines, without you even realising it. Making
it a perfect game for education.

Zachtronics admits that
SpaceChem's molecular machine is "a concept that is not
entirely grounded in reality," and points out that later levels
introduce imaginary atoms (and space aliens), but reckons that it
offers "an opportunity to practice problem solving skills," and "a
way to get students excited about computer programming and
chemistry."

Educators can email zach@zachtronicsindustries.com to request a
permanent site license of the game, until January 2012.

The game has also recently received a new mode called sandbox,
which lets players construct experimental molecular computers and
pipelines. To celebrate, the indie puzzler has received a permanent
price cut
from £8.99 to £6.99. It's also available on iPad in the form of
SpaceChem Mobile, for £3.99.